Our seven day trip on the Emerald Isle started with a celebration of New Years Eve in Dublin. Catching the bus into the city, we headed for the area of Temple Bar and stopped for our first smooth drink of Guinness at the Wild Duck. We walked around the streets of Dublin, soaking up the hustle and bustle and enjoying the festive lights still shining from Christmas. Buskers jammed on street corners, and punters sat in the steamy windows of the pubs. An 8.00 pm curfew was imposed across Ireland, so we headed back after dinner to get ready for our early start and road trip the following day!
Leaving Dublin, we drove directly west across Ireland. The roads were quiet, and the scenery was primarily flat farmland and sparsely populated outside of the towns. We Listened to traditional Irish folk music and Gaelic speakers on the radio. Approximately 1.7 million people in Ireland can still speak Gaelic, and its a tradition that will hopefully continue to thrive in the future. We stopped at Lough Corrib fifteen mins outside of Galway for a picnic lunch. The Ed Sheeran song Galway Girl was inspired by an Irish band from this
area around Galway city and the Latin quarter. The famous Kirwans lane is one of the five medieval laneways left running through Galway, and we spent the afternoon sitting in the window at a cosy pub called 1520, playing chess and drinking creamy Guinness.
We stayed in the small town of Oranmore, an hour southeast outside of Galway. We headed off early, south to walk along the Cliffs of Moher. Wills mum and dad have been there for their honeymoon, so we wanted to retrace their steps years later. There were dangerous 50km hour winds, and a local family in the car park warned us to be careful and not venture too near the edge. We walked along the wild, rugged coastline dodging puddles and stomping through the mud. Looking out to sea, the vast Atlantic Ocean was immense, with the next landmass being the United States. We did a loopback through the farmlands, the smell of manure lingering in the air. The cows and sheep sheltered from the wind behind the stone walls. It was a great walk, and we made it back to the car with one minute to spare before the heavens opened! It was like
a scene in P.S I love you Wild Atlantic way, old stone walls and luscious green field after field as far as the eye could see.
On the way back, we stopped for some early dinner at a pub called Mcgans pub in Doolin. The pub had excellent reviews and was busy with locals and tourists retiring from the cold. We sat at a table next to the open brick fire and walls covered with memorabilia. The barman informed us a local Irish band would be playing soon, so we couldnt pass up the opportunity for some local Irish culture. They played the uilleann pipes, the national bagpipe of Ireland and the Irish BouzoukiIrish, similar to a guitar. It was a great atmosphere, Irish dittys by the cosy fire, a pint of Guinness and everyone tapping their feet to the music.
Leaving Oranmore, we headed south and stopped in the town of Limerick. The River Shannon ferociously flows through the city, along the castle walls. Several brave kayakers tacked the cold, rapids. Continuing on the southern road, we stopped in a random small travellers town, with multiple caravans parked up in the gardens of each house. Approximately
32,000 Irish travellers live in Ireland, and Irish Cob horses were evident throughout our trip, traditionally bred by the as they are horses able to pull carts. Our final stop for the evening was Killarney, Kerry. We had a few hours before nightfall, so we parked up at Ross castle and strolled along the looping trails, through the woods and along the banks of Lough Leane. We spoke to a few friendly locals on the way who directed us towards the pastures that for dear to graze from. At dusk, we were lucky to see a small group grazing in the distance.
